"Spirit Driven" (2 Tim. 1:7) was the theme embraced by the 93rd International Convention of the International Lutheran Laymen's League. The event, held July 22-25 at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska, emboldened attendees to remember that God's Spirit reaches deep in our souls to yield the gifts necessary to carry out God's work: power, love, and self-discipline. Using these gifts allows all of us the boldness required to reach out with the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ and touch a hurting world.

"As the world is rapidly changing, Lutheran Hour Ministries is prepared to move forward in the coming years with a renewed vigor, creativity, and resolve—a resolve as Spirit Driven disciples to do all we can to share the life-giving message of hope with the nations of the world," Int'l LLL President Mick Onnen told the more than 1,000 people in attendance at one of the Convention's general sessions.

Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker of The Lutheran Hour^®, punctuated a series of stirring messages throughout the Convention by comparing what we now face to what the early settlers encountered in the fall and spring prairie fires. "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms," said Pastor Klaus. "These are the powers who have set the fire you see upon the horizon. Their fire is coming, and if your parish is to stand a chance—if your family is to survive spiritually—it is necessary to show the importance of God's love which surrounds us. It is time for us to recommit ourselves to showing God's love ... Jesus' life, suffering, death and resurrection is the firebreak we need."

He continued, "We are committed, called to turn the tide, proudly, passionately, powerfully. We are called to turn people back to the Savior who has the answers and who is the world's only real expert. God grant we do so."

Activities during the course of the International Convention reinforced the theme:

• Men gathered at legendary Rosenblatt Stadium, home of the College World Series, to hear about the progress of the Men's NetWork and watch the world premiere of an upcoming Bible study about vocation on the stadium's Jumbotron scoreboard;
• At a lunch with Woman to Woman host Phyllis Wallace, Christian humorist Jan Struck shared how her goal is to help every woman know where joy comes from and how precious she is to God;
• During the Convention's main sessions, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod's president-elect, the Rev. Matthew Harrison, made an unexpected appearance and offered support for the efforts of Lutheran Hour Ministries, stressing also that LHM/the Int'l LLL will continually be in his prayers;
• Attendees met and visited with many of LHM's International Ministry Center directors from more than 30 countries to learn about the mission work they are doing. A special "Global Village" event offered an evening of music provided by Mariachi San Pablo, a Christian mariachi band from El Paso, Texas, a performance from acclaimed dramatist Lucas Baloyi from LHM—South Africa, and international cuisine;
• LHM and the Nebraska District of the LCMS teamed up to offer a special day of outreach training workshops led by top-rate, nationally known speakers who talked about ministry and mission work;
• Pastor Klaus, who will retire as Speaker at the end of 2010, was recognized for his many years of service to LHM and the Int'l LLL during a luncheon in which notables from his past came to pay homage to his achievements—with humor, warmth, and honesty;
• The Hoffmann Society Recognition Breakfast included an interview between Pastor Klaus and Dr. Paul Maier, son of The Lutheran Hour's first Speaker, about the past, present, and future of the program.

If you have a high speed Internet connection, you can view mainstage presentations from LHM's divisions, messages from God's Word by Pastor Klaus, and addresses from Executive Director Bruce Wurdeman and Int'l LLL President Mick Onnen online at no cost throughout much of August. To watch these Convention videos, visit www.lhm.org/convention/ondemand.htm.

How We Got the Bible, a video Bible study hosted by Dr. Paul L. Maier and produced by Lutheran Hour Ministries' Men's NetWork, has won bronze Tellys in two categories of the 2010 Telly Awards program.

"It's an exciting thing to see our Men's NetWork videos receive this kind of recognition," said Bruce Wurdeman, executive director of Lutheran Hour Ministries. "How We Got the Bible received a Telly in the category of Religion/Spirituality—which included an impressive field of entries from major faith-based media producers. And I'm almost prouder of our Telly in the second category—Low Budget (under $700 per minute)—because videos from many more content areas and genres were competing for those awards."

According to the Telly Awards Web site, the purpose of the awards is to "honor the very best local, regional, and cable television commercials and programs, as well as the finest video and film productions, and work created for the Web."

"These awards validate from a third-party perspective the kind of work being done through the Men's NetWork—particularly the video talents of Troy Teuscher and Jim Likens," Wurdeman added.

Coming soon from the Men's NetWork is a brand-new companion video Bible study to How We Got the Bible, hosted again by Dr. Maier. It will explore other ancient books not included in the Bible.

Previously, Lutheran Hour Ministries has won Telly Awards for episodes from On Main Street, This Is The Life, and a video called A Light In The Darkness.

During the recent World Cup soccer tournament, LHM—South Africa found an opportunity to share the Gospel with sports fans from all over the world. Two members of the LHM team, Drama Coordinator Lucas Baloyi and Audience Relations Coordinator Tshepo Kutumela, set up a booth at the Newtown FIFA Fan Park in Johannesburg to share the Good News of Jesus with the international soccer enthusiasts attending the match.

LHM—South Africa was invited to the game by another Christian-based organization, the South African Sports Coalition, which was operating an event called The Ultimate Goal (TUG). By noon, Baloyi and Kutumela had set up an exhibit with many colorful booklets spread out across the floor of their display area, which attracted many curious sports fans. The people were friendly, and they were happy to chat before the game while enjoying South African cuisine and the sound of the vuvuzelas.

Several people expressed an interest in Bible Correspondence Courses and were given the first lesson. Others helped themselves to the booklets, which cover a broad range of spiritual topics. Puzzle Club books were popular with the children, who were very excited to receive them.

One man commended LHM's presence at the game, saying "It is good to see God's name elevated even at sporting events."

After the match kicked off, Kutumela and Baloyi packed up the booth, grateful to have had the chance to connect with soccer fans outside the World Cup tournament. "We as a ministry saw an opportunity to evangelize to the people," Baloyi said. "We managed to reach many nonbelievers."

For more information about LHM—South Africa, visit the ministry center's LHM International page on the Web.

Special friends of Lutheran Hour Ministries offered to match, dollar for dollar, up to $65,000, the gifts donors gave in honor of the 80th anniversary of The Lutheran Hour. Praise be to God, you have donated nearly $70,000 so far. That makes nearly $135,000 for the ministry of The Lutheran Hour!

Generous donors responded in many ways: through an e-mail appeal or direct mail appeal, to one of the Web page banners on LHM's Web site, through the special offering taken at the Int'l LLL convention, or through the ad in The Lutheran Layman newspaper. Thank you for your support!

It's not too late to make your gift! You can still support the 80th anniversary by giving online here.

In the course of a single day, LHM—Brazil received more than 1,200 requests for the booklet "Messages of Hope for the Wife, Mother, and Woman."

About 20,000 of the booklets were printed in March for sale to Lutheran congregations that wished to distribute them to their members on Mother's Day. After the May holiday, there were some copies left over, and the staff decided to offer the item on the "Free Booklet of the Week" section of their Web site.

Flavio Knopp, Multimedia Production Manager of LHM—Brazil, notified a local blog writer about the booklet, who sent the word out to his readers. That day, over 1,200 people signed up to receive a copy in the mail.

After the overwhelming response of the first day, Knopp removed "Messages of Hope" from the Web site and replaced it with a "Sold Out" message and the option to request a different booklet. "If the booklet had stayed there a week, we would have had to reprint it!" said Knopp. "This is a good way to reach people—including unchurched people—through the Internet."

Visit the LHM—International blog to learn how our International Ministry Centers are reaching out to communities around the world.

Proposals for amended and restated Articles of Incorporation, amended and restated Bylaws, and a Resolution for an Orderly Transition were all approved by the Convention body at the 2010 International Convention of the Int'l LLL in Omaha in July. The approval of these proposals will change the governance structure of the Int'l LLL, including moving in 2012 to a Board of Directors whose members are elected based on core competencies rather than regional representation and allowing all LHM donors to elect the Board instead of just LCMS and LCC members who are in attendance at the Convention. A consultant has been enlisted to assist in the implementation of these changes.

The new Articles and Bylaws also provide for the biennial International Conventions that were approved by the Convention body in 2009 and will now become a formal part of the organization's governance documents.

"Through these governance changes we hope to achieve an even more focused and efficient organization so that our donor gifts are most effectively used to proclaim the changeless Christ in a changing world," says Int'l LLL President Mick Onnen. "The Lord calls us not to rest on the successes of the past, but to be powerful agents to carry His Gospel message into the future. We pray that He guides and directs us that our plans and service might be a fragrant offering, and, by His grace, Lutheran Hour Ministries will be a bright beacon of forgiveness, hope, and life to many in this dark world."

To learn more about these governance changes, visit www.lhm.org/convention and click on the button titled "Learn About Changes to Int'l LLL Governance" located on the right side of the page.